“Yes! I’m me! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don’t understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good with cheese. I read books fast! I think! And I always have a piece of string! That’s the kind of person I am!”
My second witchy read of the season, although I didn’t consciously choose to read it now with all my other upcoming witchy reads; I just wanted to read my next Discworld book. A happy accident. I’ve been looking forward to the Tiffany Aching books for a long time, like, for fifteen years. And I have finally reached them! With bonus Nac Mac Feegle! (“Nac Mac Feegle! The Wee Free Men! Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna’ be fooled again!”) They are a bunch of little blue men who speak with Glaswegian accents and who are really into stealing and fighting and such. I was very amused by them in their first appearance in one of the Witch books, and am very glad we are going to see more of them.
“Whut’s the plan, Rob?” said one of them.
“Okay, lads, this is what we’ll do. As soon as we see somethin’, we’ll attack it. Right?”
This caused a cheer.
“Ach, ’tis a good plan,” said Daft Wullie.”
But the real star of this book is budding witch, Tiffany, who lives in the shepherding community of Chalk, as she learns that she is apparently to take over the witching responsibilities from her Granny Aching, who died two years before. But witchery is not what Tiffany expected, and she has to learn on her feet as the mysterious but dangerous Queen has kidnapped her sticky toddler brother, Wentworth, for which she enlists the help of the Nac Mac Feegle.
This book is incredibly funny, and it has a backbone of cleverness and heart. The climactic scene for me was both confusing (hence this not being a full five star read) and once things cleared up a little, incredibly moving. Highly recommend this one. It would be a great entry into Pratchett if you want a quicker read.
